A Prayer for Pesach

A Prayer.

On this sacred night when our ancestors were freed from enslavement, we remember their pain.  We recall their misery and utter feelings of abandonment and a future that looked dismal.

God changed all that when He redeemed our mothers and father from slavery just as he promised Abraham and Sarah.

Oh God, open our hearts to the reality of You and of the suffering that exists all around.  We are keenly aware of the Covid-19 that, like the plagues we recite in the Pesach seder, seem all too familiar.  Make us aware of the need to be thankful for the blessings of freedom and hope that our children will enjoy the goodness that emanates from Above.  At the same time, we need open hearts to alleviate the unbearable pain of those who suffer from this virus, give courage to them and their families, to the children who lack adequate care and food during this quarantine with malnutrition, lack of a hopeful future, prejudice and death.  Keep us all safe, Lord.

When we remove all the leaven from our homes my we also work to eradicate all the detritus, anger, and resentments that keep us from being whole.  Help us, God, for we are weak.  At the same time, let us step out of the penultimate plague of Darkness into light by offering to bring comfort to those who need it.  Call someone today and find out how they are faring.  Bring them and the world greater light.

Infuse into our souls light, supernal light, which allows us to see clearly that every person is made in the image of God.  And let it be that on this Pesach we learn to become responsible for every Jewish person in our community and then moving outward to make life for everyone more bearable.

May we perform these sacred acts of the seder with joy and gratitude; our voices singing loud and clear declaring our unity and the Oneness of our Maker.  Fill our hearts with passion to feel Your love and the commitment, that holy covenant that You have honored to this day.

Our past:

Creation. The exile from Eden. The Flood. Noah. Then Abraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. The Exile and the Exodus, and the giving of our Torah. The Tabernacle, Land of Israel, the Judges, the Prophets, and the Holy Temple. The Destruction. Purim, the Second Temple, and Hanukah. The Diaspora.. The Crusades. The Inquisition. Pogroms. The Cossacks. The "Enlightenment." Out of the ghettos ... Auschwitz. Treblinka. Bergen-Belsen. Reviving. Rebuilding. Re-Souling ... 

 Help us to realize, God that we are part of this great chain of unending tradition on these holy days.

Above all, Holy One, instill in our hearts hope.  You have never abandoned us.  Hold us close now.